Shruti and Adam are taking on an 8 day hike in Patagonia, aiming for November 2025.

Hiking in Patagonia has been on Shruti's bucket list since she was a teenager, but tackling the 8 day hike is going to be a huge challenge for us both. Physically I (Shruti) am going to struggle - I don't hike and I don't like uphill, I'm used to a supportive bed and I need a lot of rest after exercise. Camping and a different diet is going to take its toll between these walking days. This feels like an impossible challenge at the moment and one that's going to take my body time to adjust to if it can.

For me (Adam) I'm going to struggle dragging Shruti out for training hikes no matter the weather and also watching her in pain as she attempts this challenge carrying her own share of the weight.

We are doing this hike together, at the 5 year anniversary of Shruti's diagnosis, because that's how we do life. Adam supporting Shruti with her crazy whims! This disease affects us both in our own ways and we want to shed light on this as well as raise money for a good cause.

Here's why...

In October 2020, I (Shruti) was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis after 10+ years of unknown aches, pains, joint issues and inflammation. This was the height of the pandemic and mid-way through my PhD - not ideal. Whilst the diagnosis wasn't unexpected, it was still tough to process and the start of a long journey that neither of us could have anticipated when we were planning our lives together.

I (Shruti) don't remember the last day I wasn't in pain or didn't have to think about whether I'm doing too much activity and how that will affect my next day(s). I'm often tired and can't predict what tomorrow will bring.

Despite it being Shruti that lives with the day to day of having the disease which affects her whole body, including brain function at times, I (Adam) also had to have a big adjustment. The life of a 20 something (at least when he started!) year old carer isn't that of a usual 20 something year old. The partnership one usually expects in a relationship had to adapt to the reality of being a carer. Things like splitting the household chores is very difficult, ensuring that there are meals cooked in advance of going away over night or even sometimes tying shoelaces or cutting up dinner.

We've each had to come to terms with our new lives. We've completely changed our diet, social life, hobbies and work life to fit around Shruti's unpredictable and changing body.

Every week I (Shruti) am reminded of my disease, even on the good weeks when I inject myself with immunosuppressants to stop my body literally attacking itself. I hate it, and it's often with Adam's support that I actually bring myself to do it.

However, I am also grateful for this weekly injection. Even 40 years ago it didn't exist. Thanks to research funded by Versus Arthritis there is continuous progress in this area. We are raising money for this reason. So, hopefully, one day there will be a cure for these diseases so that people of all ages don't have to live with this - those with the disease or their carers.